While on a camping trip, cooking can be so different from at home. This dutch oven apple cobbler recipe is an easy dessert to make for around the campfire.
Jump to RecipeAs a scouting family, we are at campouts twice per year right now, and that is about to increase as Tyler starts his last year in Cub Scouts. Right now, I am the Cubmaster of our Pack and also lead Ryan’s Den. Justin is the leader of Tyler’s Den. So we are very involved with our pack and the planning of our camping trips. And a big part of camping is food!
Cooking while camping is very different than cooking at home. We usually get sites with electric hookups, but not always. As a Cub Scout rule, we have to have running water and restroom facilities, but nothing else. It’s made us get very creative with our campfire cooking. Especially since we often have anywhere from 75-100 people at our big Pack campouts. It’s a lot of people to cook for!
Before I was even a leader in Scouts, one dessert that was featured every time is the dutch oven apple cobbler for dessert. I had never cooked in a true dutch oven before camping. When I was growing up, we had a camper trailer, so still used the stove and oven for food.
During our campouts in 2020 and 2021, we went to food in smaller groups, and I didn’t make the apple cobbler. Boy, did I hear about that! The pack didn’t have a written recipe, so I talked to previous leaders to write down a new recipe for the pack. This is such an easy recipe to make and the best part is there are a lot of variations in the flavor depending on which ingredients you use.
To make this recipe easy, you’ll want to purchase the ingredients as listed. We’ve always used the canned apple filling for this since it’s easy to transport, easy to store, and quick. We make multiple dutch oven cobblers to feed everyone at the campouts. It takes about 30-40 minutes total to have a delicious apple cobbler dessert ready to serve.
If you’re cooking for a smaller group, or have the time, you could try making your own apple pie filling. A simple way to do this is to slice Granny Smith apples and cook them in a pan over the fire with some melted butter, water, and white sugar or brown sugar. This should only take a few minutes for the apple slices to soften slightly. Then you can add a little bit of water and corn starch mixture to the pan to thicken the apples. Finally, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon cinnamon for flavor. Fresh apples will have more taste, but it isn’t always convenient when you’re camping unless you make this ahead of time.
For those who plan to make this at home, I highly recommend a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of it. For obvious reasons, this isn’t feasible when we are at a campground without a freezer to keep it from melting.
What is the Best Dutch Oven?
The best dutch oven will vary based on your needs. As a Cub Scout Pack, we have multiple dutch ovens. We use a cast iron dutch oven for most of our cooking. We prefer the 12-inch 6-quart dutch ovens as they hold a lot of food. You can also purchase smaller ones if you are making a dutch oven recipe for the first time and want to just give it a try.
As with all cast iron, if you take care of your pan it will last a lifetime. Make sure it doesn’t have any moisture left on it when storing and never use soap or chemicals to clean it. We have a dutch oven cleaning pad that works perfectly on all of my cast iron cookware.
One thing I highly recommend is something to line the dutch oven. We purchase aluminum foil liners that are made specifically for dutch ovens. But you can also line them with parchment paper or regular aluminum foil.
Make sure you also have the right accessories. The dutch oven gets extremely hot. We always bring good oven gloves as well as a lid lifter made for the dutch oven. You can also get a charcoal chimney starter to make your coals ready quicker.
Dutch Oven Apple Cobbler Step by Step
Ingredients
- 2 cans apple pie filling
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 8 tbsp cold butter, sliced
- 12 oz Sprite
Preparation
Prepare about 30 coals for cooking. They should be warm and no longer black.
Oil your dutch oven well or use a dutch oven liner.
Pour both cans of pie filling into the dutch oven.
Evenly spread the cake mix across the top of the filling.
Place the butter slices on top of the cake mix making sure to spread them out as evenly as possible.
Pour the Sprite on top of the dry ingredients and do not stir.
Place the lid on the dutch oven and place about half of the charcoal briquettes under the dutch oven and the other half on top. Pro tip: If you are making more than one cobbler or dutch oven recipe, you can stack the dutch ovens so the top briquettes of one become the bottom for the other. Then we add firewood around it to make sure the kids don’t accidentally run into it.
Bake for about 20 minutes then check the cake for a golden brown color. If it isn’t finished, replace the lid and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes until the cake is cooked through.
Dutch Oven Apple Cobbler Leftovers
Storage: When camping, food storage can be more tricky. Place any leftovers in an airtight resealable container and keep them in your cooler for up to one day.
Reheating: If you are doing outdoor cooking, I suggest placing this in a dutch oven and warming it the same way. Or you can reheat it in a small pot over the campfire until warmed through, stirring occasionally.
Variations
There are other variations of dutch oven cobbler that you can try. Our pack likes the apple cobbler the best, but we also enjoy the chocolate strawberry cobbler. To change the flavor, you will change out the cans of apple pie filling and the yellow cake mix. Some also suggest different sodas. But you always need the butter on top of the cake for it to cook properly.
Chocolate Strawberry Cobbler:
- 2 cans strawberry pie filling
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- 12 oz sprite
Cherry Cobbler:
- 2 cans cherry pie filling
- 1 box vanilla cake mix
- 12 oz sprite
Peach Cobbler:
- 2 cans peaches
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 12 oz sprite
Apple Spice Cobbler
- 2 cans apple pie filling
- 1 box spice cake mix
- 12 oz root beer
Pineapple Cobbler
- 2 cans pineapple chunks
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 12 oz sprite
Blueberry Cobbler
- 2 cans blueberry pie filling
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 12 oz sprite
Recipe
Originally Published On: April 17, 2023
Dutch Oven Apple Cobbler
Ingredients
- 2 cans apple pie filling (21 oz each)
- 1 box yellow cake mix (15.25 oz)
- 8 tbsp cold butter (sliced)
- 12 oz Sprite
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Prepare about 30 coals for cooking; they should be warm and no longer black
- Oil your dutch oven well or use a dutch oven liner
- Pour both cans of pie filling into the dutch oven
- Evenly spread the cake mix across the top of the filling
- Place the butter slices on top of the cake mix making sure to spread them out as evenly as possible
- Pour the Sprite on top of the dry ingredients and do not stir
- Place the lid on the dutch oven and place about half of the charcoal briquettes under the dutch oven and the other half on top
- Bake for about 20 minutes then check the cake for a golden brown color
- If it isn’t finished, replace the lid and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes until the cake is cooked through
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Camping food does not have to be boring. What a great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I have never cooked in a Dutch oven before! And I certainly would not have thought about cooking like this during a camping trip. What a great way to cook and enjoy a delicious dessert! If I go camping, I would like to try this. I am sure it will add to the experience of the trip!
Great instructions on making dutch oven apple cobbler recipe. This sounds like a perfect option for camping! Yum!
Oh wow! That’s so cool! I had no idea you’d be able to make something like this while out camping! I have to say this is very innovative and creative!
This was perfect for us! My husband loves all apple desserts and we love camping recipes for when we take our RV out for an adventure. Very delicious! Will be making again!
This looks so yum. I have never tried making anything in the Dutch oven tbh. But I have tried Dutch oven food which was delicious. This one I’m pinning only to try later.
I never thought we can cook the pie on a campfire. What a cool recipe. We aren’t big camping lovers but my kids adore apple pies. We will try to make it in a real oven.
I have made it in the oven as well! Set it to 350F and bake about the same amount of time, just check to make sure it’s done before serving.
This looks yummy recipe! We might be going camping next weekend and this would be perfect recipe to try it. Thank you for sharing!
Wow, this apple cobbler cake requires almost no effort at all but will satisfy your sweet tooth! I will surely try this next time when we go camping.
When you are planning for camping meals, this woud be a great option. Thank you! The kids will love it for sure.
This looks amazing! I love how easy it is ti make, but so delicious! Can’t wait to make it again!!
Getting the liner for the dutch oven is smart. This dump cake sounds good to me. It’s awesome that you shared your recipe with the camp (and with us). 🙂
Never imagined we can bake at camp. This is so very interesting. I’m amazed. The kids would love this idea.
That cake sounds wonderful. I’ve made a Dutch apple cake before but not an apple cobbler dump cake. It’s handy that you can make this both at home and also when camping. We’d have it at home with ice cream, yum!!!
How fun! I love that you took your dutch oven camping and cooked with it. The coals seem like a science in itself!
I have to say, it looks absolutely delicious! I love spending time in the great outdoors and enjoy cooking, I am excited to try out this recipe when I go on a camping trip.
I really had no idea what to try out this weekend. Thanks a lot. I’m already looking forward to this.
okay i need to make this asap! My boys would love this! And we already have extra apples!!